SEAT, the trendy Spanish car builder that brought us the catchphrase "auto emocion", is celebrating a double whammy with the arrival of its latest star.

SEAT, the trendy Spanish car builder that brought us the catchphrase "auto emocion", is celebrating a double whammy with the arrival of its latest star.

The Altea, like the rest of the Seat range, is named after a Spanish town - in this case one close to tourist mecca Benidorm.

And not only does it spear-head a new generation of cars from the VW-owned company, but a fresh concept too.

We know all about MPVs, SUVs and MAVs, well here comes the MSV, or as Seat would have us believe, Multi Sport Vehicle.

Just where Altea is going to fit in, and who it will appeal to, I'm not entirely sure.

Nonetheless it's a stylish and attractive newcomer and first offering from a busy period that will see Seat launch a completely new Toledo next year followed by a revamped Leon in 2006.

Created by Walter de Silva, whose designs have given Seat models a real edge in recent years, Altea is based on the Salsa concept that graced the motor show circuit in 2000.

It comes with a choice of two petrol and two powerful diesel engines, and a trio of trim levels - Reference, Stylance and Sport.

The new offering is first and foremost a family car built to satisfy a demand for added room.

And to that end it hits the bullseye, for despite being compact the Altea is extremely spacious.

There's a huge amount of headroom wherever you sit, terrific legroom and while the central rear position is a perch, it's also relatively comfortable.

Problem though is that the barely adequate rear visibility becomes nil with three across the back.

The sort of seat flexibility found in midi-MPVs is absent but that doesn't mean a lack of clever touches. What is already a large boot also features a two-tier floor and seriously neat wiper blades that tuck away into the A-pillar.

What lets the interior down though is an angled and pretty basic dash surrounded by an overload of cheap brittle plastic.

Where the Altea really scores though is in its driving enjoyment, providing you avoid the underpowered 1.6-litre petrol version that starts the range at #12,850.

This 102bhp unit labours in too many areas and can't hold a candle to its diesel siblings.

Both these versions, a 1.9-litre turbodiesel and more lusty 140bhp 2.0 TDI, were also available at the press launch and not only offered lively performance, especially in the mid-range, but a really positive drive.

The chassis was originally developed for the more sporty Leon Cupra R, and you can tell. Ride quality is near perfect: there's rapid steering response and little in the way of body roll.

By the time Altea hits the showrooms on July 11 a 2.0-litre FSI version, which in company with the stronger of the TDIs has a six rather than five-speed transmission, will have joined the line-up.

And by late summer the 2.0 TDI will also have Audi's dual clutch Direct Shift Gearbox that boosts 0-62 to a hardly remarkable 9.8 seconds.

Of the trim choices the most basic Reference looks every bit as attractive as the more expensive options and includes the likes of six airbags, remote central locking and 6-speaker CD sound system as standard.